Chapter 18

We left that same night. All the ogres were rushing to gather up. I was on Dun Stallion while watching them all gather. I was going to lead them to the goblin village.

The village chief would also be in front along with his family and that would all be fine, except that the village chief requested that he let his daughter ride with me on Dun Stallion. 

I asked him why and he said that she is their princess, so she deserves more special treatment. Not going to lie, that was kind of an "iffy" excuse at best. Something else was up, but I'm not going to look too much into it given the time crunch we were in. So I decided to accept his request. I know she has a sort of sheltered upbringing, but I think this may be a bit too much. 

I don't know what the future holds for me on a personal level, but if I end up somehow having a family, I'm definitely not going to become one of those parents who overly dotes on them to the point of spoiling them to death. 

Enough about that, there are ogres that need organizing to make this trip as fast as possible. 

The travel plan was simple. We were going to use wolf tactics. We are going to travel in a single file line. This will allow us to travel more efficiently and conserve energy. The strong ogres mainly those leading, will be at the front and the rest of the strong ogres will be at the back. The more vulnerable ogres such as children and the elderly will be in the middle so they can be protected. 

It took them a while to get in proper formation, but it was fine for now. We'll have to make little camps during breaks, but most of the ogres brought with them some essentials like blankets, clothing, etc. But the most important is food. They didn't bring "proper" meals, but they brought food equivalent to rations. Things like bread and whatnot.

If we need more food, we can hunt in the surrounding forest, but we won't do that until we are far enough away. The orcs will be approaching this place soon and we don't want to run into any of them during a hunt and suddenly attract attention at this time.

Some more minutes passed and we were finally ready to leave. I was a little surprised that they were able to gather as fast as they did, but I guess when your life is in danger it makes you do things you thought you couldn't do.

"This is everyone village chief?"

"Yes. This is everyone. We are ready to leave whenever."

"Alright let's go. We have no time to waste."

With a signal from me and the chief, we started to move. For now, we would move a little fast to put as much distance as possible from the village and then we would take a break. 

Normally it would be very hard to navigate in a forest at nighttime, but universal sense works wonders. For the ogres, some of them know magic sense so they helped each other out and guiding those who didn't.

This would be the worst part of the trip, but it was necessary. 

/\\//\\//\

It's been a few hours now and it was close to morning. 

We've made fast progress. Enough to put us out of the danger zone. Everyone was resting. Some were eating and some were sleeping. We would move out again at noon.

Me and Dun Stallion were fine. I wasn't tired, but there was nothing wrong with stretching and moving about after sitting for a long time. 

Speaking of that, it was kind of an awkward ride on Dun Stallion with the princess sitting behind me. Dun Stallion was perfectly fine with two people riding him, but me and the princess were another thing. 

She must not have ridden on a horse before. She looked a little shaky and was holding on to Dun Stallion as best she could. It was a little weird, but a little help and some tips from me fixed it a bit.

That was about all the conversation I had with her though. It was just a weird and awkward atmosphere between us two. I distracted myself by focusing on the orcs and their survival.

A princess riding with a knight in shining armor who is saving her and her people while riding on a majestic white horse. Where have I seen this one before?

She was with her family, while I was standing and observing the other ogres.

I would have to try to ease the mood a little and make things less awkward between us. I don't know how to though. I find that weird. Why do I feel like this? I was able to confront the chief pretty easily and kind of smoothly, but now? It's a whole different story. 

I'll have time to think about it later.

It eventually reached noon so we started traveling again and the princess was riding with me. 

The plan was to travel until nightfall and then rest until morning. This would be the plan until we reached the goblin village. 

Not much was going to happen from this point on so it would be smooth sailing from this point. 

/\\//\\//\

(A few days later)

Not much has happened. It was more of the same. Travel the whole day, hunt for some food if necessary, rest at night, wake up, and repeat. 

If there were some kind of complaint it would be that Dun Stallion seems to think he's being funny. 

'Dun Stallion, what do you think you're doing?'

'Master, I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'I think you do have an idea of what I'm talking about.'

'Master, I feel you have a lack of understanding.'

'Are you calling me dumb?'

'Our world is what we make of it. Every person and creature experiences the world differently from their perspectives. From the smallest insect to the biggest dragon.

Likewise, it also applies to in-'

'Don't get philosophical with me now Dun Stallion.'

What was he doing?

Well, it seems he figured out about that weird atmosphere between me and the princess. So now, he was moving in such a way that would create more movement than necessary. He was adding some bounce to his step, moving a little too fast and then suddenly stopping, moving side-to-side, and other stuff.

What did this cause? Well, the princess, who is not used to that kind of movement, was forced to hang on to me…by hugging me from behind. 

I'll be honest, I appreciate what he's trying to do, but I'm sure this is not the way to go about it. 

'Dun Stallion just stop. There's no need to do any of that.'

'Fine. Your loss then.'

I should just talk to her, but this isn't exactly the best time. When we arrive at the village I'll start talking to her. Cause this just isn't it. 

/\\//\\//\

More days went by and we were getting very close. We should be arriving today. 

It's been relatively calm. The ogres haven't really complained that much. The only ones that did were children complaining about when we would get there. I guess some things never change, even in a new world. 

We kept moving and I could see it. The gates of the village. I was happy to finally return to what I called home. I just wanted to relax, go to sleep and rest. I wasn't physically or mentally tired, it was just something I wanted to do after being gone for more than a week.

Unfortunately, it seems I won't be able to do that. I was getting a bad feeling about something. Not an attack on me or any of the ogres, but there was something or someone dangerous that was going to appear.

'Come on, why now?'

This feeling just wouldn't disappear and then I saw what caused this feeling,

The sky darkened and massive grey clouds started appearing out of nowhere. The temperature started rising a bit. I had to act now.

I got off Dun Stallion and talked to the ogre princess.

"Princess, you should get off. I'm about to ride in to confront the danger ahead."

"Will you be fine?"

"I'll be perfectly fine. I'm much stronger than you think. Here, let me help you get off."

I took her hand and helped her get off, but because she was short and Dun Stallion was taller than your average horse, her legs couldn't reach down all the way to the ground.

So, I did what I had to do since I was in a hurry. I reached my arms to where she was and picked her up. I was carrying her in a princess carry and the nI set her down on the ground.

"You should go to your father."

I said that, but her father came to us instead. 

"What's going on?"

"An enemy has appeared in the village. Don't worry though, I'll take care of it. You just take care of of the ogres and make sure no one gets hurt."

"Are we able to help in any way?"

"Unless you feel fine fighting against the Greater Elemental Ifrit, then I wouldn't fight."

"I'll make sure everyone is fine then."

"I'll go ahead and take the danger somewhere else. Continue into the village, and look for a big goblin named Rigurd. Tell him I sent you and he'll tell you what to do, until the threat disappears." 

"Understood."

I got back on Dun Stallion and started rushing ahead into the village.

'Come on Dun Stallion, we have to burn the breeze'

'You got it master.'